Alloy and process of producing the same.



unrrnn s'rarns Parana orrion.

ISADOR LADOFF, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF THIRTY ONE-HUNDBEDTHS TO WALTER D. EDMONDS, OF BOONVILLE, NEW YORK.

ALLOY AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING THE SAME.

1 40,699. No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IsAnoR LADOFF, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Cleveland, county of Guyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alloys and Processes of Producing the Same, of which the following is a specification.

Alloys of metals whose chemical properties are the most dissimilar are often the most useful in the arts on account of the idiosyncratic properties of such alloys ren dering them comparable to new elements. Such alloys are, however, the most ditlicult to produce.

Heretofore alloys have been produced principally in one of the two following ways, viz :-The metals have been molten together in certain proportions at requisite high temperature. It Will be observed that by this process in certain cases extremely high temperatures are requiredas, for instance, Wliere alloys with titanium are involved. Also, that in certain cases the proportions of the respective metals in the resulting alloy are limited. Another process of producing alloys has been to mix the metals together in powdered state and apply thereto a pressure sutficiently high to effect the production of a resultant alloy at ordinary temperature.

The hi h pressure method last referred to is prefera Is to the high temperature method above described because avoiding the aforesaid limitation as to proportions of the respective metals in the resulting alloy and also avoiding oxidation in the case of certain metals, occlusion of gases, etc., often characteristic of the molten metal method. But the pressure method, on the other hand, is too expensive for application on an industrial scale.

The object of my present invention is to provide a more economical, certain and universal method of producing alloys of all grades and proportions, and, more articularly, alloys of metals-such as titanlum, for instance-which are particularly rare because of the refractory character of the oxygenated forms in which they are usually found. My researches have enabled me to attain these objects by the process hereinafter described. Such researches have dem- Specification 01. Letters Patent. Application filed January 18, 1906. Serial No. 296,650.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

the oxids in process of reduction, with the further result that the pure metals, being brought into each others presence in their nascent state, are susceptible of alloying with each other in proportions unprecedented in former processes-as, for instance, the molten metal method.

My novel process may, generally speaking, be practiced as follows, viz: The oxids of the respective metals desired to be alloyed together are brought preferably to a powdered condition by any one of the well known methods. The respective metallic oxid powders thus produced are next mixed together in the desired proportions. The mixture is then treated so as to impart coherence thereto. The mass is then subjected, in the presence of the reducing agent, to a temperature sufliciently high to inaugurate the reduction of one of the oxids and thereafter maintained at approximately the same temperature sufliciently long to insure the complete reduction of all the oxids, leaving the resultant metallic products associated together in the alloyed state.

To be more explicit, and selecting, for instance, a case in which it is desired to produce the alloy of iron and titanium. The oxid of titanium, say rutile, is preliminarily reduced to powdered state. The oxid of iron, say ferric oxid, is likewise reduced to similar condition, and the two powdered oxids are then thoroughly mixed together in such proportions as are desired for the metals in the alloy to be produced.

The mixture, being moistened by water, or, if preferred, a binding material such as oil, is charged into molds of any desired form and proportions, and therein subjected to a pressure sufiicient to impart coherence to the mass-say a pressure of about six hundred atmospheres, and, after having been dried, is subjected'to a temperature of from 600 to 800 C. in an atmosphere of It will be observed that by my seasid ess the reduction of the titan c acid' and the production of the resulting alloy of titanium and iron has been accomplished at a temperature some thousands of degrees I lower than that heretofore regarded as indispensable for such results, and that thus, incldentally also, the electrical furnace may be dispensed with in reducing refractory oxids of the metals and in'producing alloys of such metals with others.

It will be understood that the method as above described is applicable to 'the pro 1 duction of alloys of an desired metals and that in each instance t e temperature, proportions of ingredients, time of exposure, etc., will be regulated according to the requirements of the particular case in hand,

. all of which can be readily determined by those skilled in the art after usual tests made procedure, each metal is, at quite lower than its melting temperature, derived from its respective oxid, after which the resultant metals combine with each other to form the alloy. In the example described, resulting in an alloy of iron and titanium, the charge being raised in a reducing atmosphere to a temperature sufiiciently hi h to inaugurate the reduction of one o metals, 2'. e. from 600 to 800 C., it followsthat the iron oxid, being much less refractory than the titanium oxid, is first reduced, thus producing, to an extent, a monometallic iron product before reduction of titanium oxid and resulting formation of the alloy begins.

One of the incidental, but valuable, results of my process consists in its applicability to the production of artistic articles consisting of a desired alloy. For instance, thereby, permanent forms in the most durable alloys may be readily imparted to original artistic work, the plastic mixture of the oxids of the metalsbeing modeled by the artist and the resulting forms permanently transformed without substantial variation in shape to metallic alloys.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following, viz:

1. The method of producing an. alloy which comprises subjecting the co-assembled oxids of its constituent metals, in a reducthe- I the meltin ing-atmosphere, to temperature below the melting points 'ofsaid metals but sufiicientl high to inaugurate, and maintaining suc temperature sufficiently long to insure, re-. I

duction of said oxids. v 2. The method of producing an alloy of iron and titanium which comprises subjecting the co-assembled oxids of iron and titanium, in a reducing atmosphere, to tem-' perature below the melting point of iron ut suificiently high to inaugurate, and :maintaining such temperature sufiiciently flOllg to insure, reduction of said oxids.

3. The method of producing an alloy Qwhich comprises'subjecting the co-assembled EOXldS of its constituent metals to ether with icarbon to temperature below t e melting ;points of said metals but sufiiciently high Lto inaugurate, and maintaining such tem- Eperature sufiiciently long to insure, reduc-' ition of said oxids.

4:. The method ofproducing an alloy which comprises heating the co-assembled ioxids of its constituent metals, in a reducing atmosphere, sufliciently long and at tem- -'perature sufiicientl high to reduce said oxids without melting the resulting metals. 5. The method of producing an alloy of iron and titanium which comprises heating co-assembled oxid of iron and oxid of titanium, in a reducing atmosphere, suificiently long, and at temperature sufficiently high, to reduce said oxids without melting the resulting metals.-

v 6. The method of producing an alloy which comprises heating the co-assembled foxids of its'constituent metals together with :carbon sufficiently long, and at temperature sufliciently high, to reduce said oxids withjout melting the resulting metals.

7. The method of producing an alloy of iron and titaniumwhich comprises heating co-assembled oxid of iron and oxid of titanium, together withcarbon, sufiiciently long, and at temperature sufiiciently high, 'ito reduce said oxids without melting the resulting metals.

8. The metallurgical method which com 'sufiiciently high to insure reduction of one of said oxids by said agent.

9. The metallurgical method which comprises bringing oxid of iron and oxid of titanium into presence of a reducing agent and subjecting them to temperatures below points ofsaid metals but sufiiciently hig to insure reduction of the oxid of ironby'said agent.

10. The metallurgical method which com prises bringing a plurality of oxids of different metals into presence of carbon monoxid and subjecting them to temperatures below the melting points of said metals but sufiiciently high to insure reduction of one of said oxids y said carbon monoxid.

11. The metallurgical method which comprises bringing oxid of iron and oxid of titanium into presence of carbon monoxid and subjecting them to temperatures below the melting points of said metals but suiiiciently hig to insure reduction of the oxid of iron by said carbon monoxid.

12. The method of producing an alloy or compound of metals which comprises subjecting the co-assembled oxids of its constituent metals, in a reducing atmosphere, to temperatures of from 600 degrees to 800 degrees centigrade and maintaining such temperatures sufiiciently long to insure reduction of said oxids.

\ 13. The method of roducing an alloy or compound of iron anti titanium which comprises subjecting the co-assembled oxids of 1IOI1 and titanium, in a reducing atmosphere, to temperatures of from 600 degrees to 800 degrees centigrade and maintaining such temperatures sufliciently long to insure reduction of said oxids.

14. The method of producing an alloy or compound of metals which comprises subjecting the co-assembled oxids of said metals together with carbon to temperatures of from 600 to 800 degrees centigrade and maintaining such temperature suificiently long to insure reduction of said oxids.

15. The method of producing an alloy or compound of iron with titanium which comrises subjecting the .co-assemblcd oxid of IIOI). and oxid of titanium together with carbon to temperatures of from 600 to 800 degrees centigrade and maintaining such temperatures sufficiently long to insure reduction of said oxids.

16. The method of producing an essentially metallic article of predetermined conformation and containing an alloy of metals which comprises mixing together a plurality of oxids of metals, shaping the mixture into the conformation "desired in said article and ciently long to insure, reduction of saidoxids.

17. The method of, producing an essentially metalhc'article of predetermined conformation and containing an alloy of metals which com rises mixin to ther l l't of oxids of g ge a p um I y in a reducing atmosphere, heating it sufiic1 ently long and at a tem erature sufficiently high to reduce said oxi s without melting the'resulting metals.

18. The method of producing an essent1ally metallic article of predetermined conformatlon and containing an alloy of metals which comprises mlxing together a plurality of oxids of metals, shaping the mixture into the conformation desired in said article, and subjecting it together with carbon to temperature below the melting point of said metals but sufliciently high to inaugurate, and maintaining such temperature suificiently long to insure, reduction of said oxids.

19. The method of producing an essentially metallic article of predetermined conformation and containing an alloy of metals which comfprises mixing together a plurality of oxids o metals, shaping the mixture into the conformation desired in said article and heating it, together with carbon, sufliciently long and at temperature sufliciently high to reduce said oxids without melting the resulting metals.

I SADQR LADOFF. Witnesses HARRY S. JENKINS, D. H. KELLY.

metals, shaping the mixture into the conformatlon desired in said article and, 

